9/11 will always cast a long dark shadow along with many others along the corridor of history that humanity travel. This planet at one time that seemed immensely big, and flat to the point we imagined sailing off the edge of it. Through technology it really has become a global village. Races and cultures I read about in books in elementary schools have become my neighbors. What I once could only imagine in my mind, I engage with all my senses...I see, I smell, I taste, I hear and I feel the reality of all humanity around me. It really is a global village in which the diversity and beauty of humanity surrounds me. I swim in that profound truth.
And with in this wildly beautiful collage of faces, colors, race and languages we've all looked for a path to something, someone, someplace beyond. Within in our finite existence we have all looked up into the vastness of a dark starry night...and contemplated the " infinite." From creation, or to that trigger finger that ignited the " big bang " we know reality is in motion. But, is there anything that captures the reality of mystery more than " infinite ".
It doesn't matter what street we live on in the global village we have all wrestled with the thought of something infinite...a something, a someone, a someplace. As humans, it is natural to have such thoughts. And it is out of such thoughts " religion " emerge. The problem with religion is we can be so consumed with the " infinite ", that creation, and humanity are seen as something worth a whole lot less. Religion can be seen as infinitely good, but earthly useless.
In a world spread out, in which our cultures were seemingly more isolated we created our own paths in search of the " infinite." And in these searches our " religions " took on a culture, a language of their own...each of us confident we had the " one " true path. We each owned the " infinite." Ours to proclaim, protect and defend. But, more than that...we were confident that the " infinite " liked us and our path only.
Sadly...as a Christian, I was once in that place, of "us" verses " them."
But after 40 years of reading the gospels I discovered another "infinite." Jesus, a human so consumed with the " infinite ", that its embryonic presence was said to have been birthed in him. Interestingly, this man found himself in similar context as we find ourselves today. A world in which religion had been twisted and contorted into the world of empire and politics. It was a world of religious wars, religion infighting...a world of increasing oppression,unemployment and poverty. Jesus took the "infinite" outside the box of all religion, and politics. Even the religion in which he was raised in, he challenged its guardians to see the "infinite" beyond shaky theological construction. He challenged the politics of the day to see the "infinite" not in their empire, but in the Kingdom here among us. Now!
Jesus, and his conversation with a Samaritan ( another faith ) woman at a well. Not just any well, it was Jacob's well...a well of deep religious tradition. It is here where Jesus and the woman talk about the " infinite." How, and where should she encounter, engage with the " infinite." What does Jesus say?
" It's who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration."
For me, today...there is profound mysterious wisdom in those words for " all " humanity. It is not the proclamation of anyone religion. It is the proclamation of something filled with divine imagination...and something very human.
For me Jesus stands at the cross roads of the paths of all religions. He does not stand as a cop, directing traffic, enforcing the law, impounding vehicles and jailing drivers. It is a simple word of caution as we all travel on various routes to the "infinite". " Simply be yourselves...be honest, worship in the spirit of truth which encompasses " all " humanity."
A religion that does not embrace all humanity, and all faiths is infinitely small...and is of no earthly good. My goal on the anniversary of 9/11 is to continue my search of the infinite in other sacred texts, cultures...in new friendships and conversations. It is infinitely beautiful to find God in all humanity, and in all faith...somehow, I think the more we pursue that journey, the more we will find life.
My friend, and author Sarah Cunningham will be posting writing from various bloggers expressing peace and goodwill around the situation in New York City.
I close with these words from Feisal Abdul Rauf last Thursday...is the chairman of the Cordoba Initiative and the imam of the Farah mosque in Lower Manhattan.
We are proceeding with the community center, Cordoba House. More important, we are doing so with the support of the downtown community, government at all levels and leaders from across the religious spectrum, who will be our partners. I am convinced that it is the right thing to do for many reasons.
Above all, the project will amplify the multifaith approach that the Cordoba Initiative has deployed in concrete ways for years. Our name, Cordoba, was inspired by the city in Spain where Muslims, Christians and Jews co-existed in the Middle Ages during a period of great cultural enrichment created by Muslims. Our initiative is intended to cultivate understanding among all religions and cultures.
Our broader mission — to strengthen relations between the Western and Muslim worlds and to help counter radical ideology — lies not in skirting the margins of issues that have polarized relations within the Muslim world and between non-Muslims and Muslims. It lies in confronting them as a joint multifaith, multinational effort.
From the political conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians to the building of a community center in Lower Manhattan, Muslims and members of all faiths must work together if we are ever going to succeed in fostering understanding and peace.
At Cordoba House, we envision shared space for community activities, like a swimming pool, classrooms and a play space for children. There will be separate prayer spaces for Muslims, Christians, Jews and men and women of other faiths. The center will also include a multifaith memorial dedicated to victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.
I am very sensitive to the feelings of the families of victims of 9/11, as are my fellow leaders of many faiths. We will accordingly seek the support of those families, and the support of our vibrant neighborhood, as we consider the ultimate plans for the community center. Our objective has always been to make this a center for unification and healing.
Cordoba House will be built on the two fundamental commandments common to Judaism, Christianity and Islam: to love the Lord our creator with all of our hearts, minds, souls and strength; and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We want to foster a culture of worship authentic to each religious tradition, and also a culture of forging personal bonds across religious traditions.
You can read the whole article here in the New York Times.
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